Many types of lifting apparatuses, such as hoists, are commonly used in many industries. Such apparatuses allow a user to manipulate relatively heavy loads with relatively little effort.
However, these apparatuses often become damaged, either through normal use or through abuse by their users. In this case, it often happens that the apparatus becomes unsafe and becomes unable to lift a load for which it is normally rated.
By their nature, the loads manipulated by lifting apparatuses are relatively heavy and can cause a lot of damages and injuries if, for any reason, the apparatus breaks and frees the load.
A common type inspection performed within the industry is to remove the apparatus from the place where it is being used and send it to specialized outlets where it is tested. An example of such a test includes loading the apparatus with the load somewhat larger than the rated capacity of the apparatus, and subsequently to examine the apparatus for indications of damage or excessive wear.
For safety reasons, it would be beneficial to perform this type of inspection often. However, since testing requires that the apparatus be removed from its operation site while being tested, users of such apparatuses typically only perform preventive testing at the minimum frequency required by law.
In addition, the removal of the apparatus from its operational site and its shipping to the specialized outlet is relatively expensive, especially in large shops wherein tens, if not hundreds, of apparatuses are used.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,923 issued to Brett on Jun. 8, 1993 attempts to solve this problem in the following way. A test stand for industrial slings is built and mounted within a vehicle, in this case a converted school bus. Therefore, the bus can be brought to many sites such that each lifting apparatus is only non-operational for testing for a short amount of time. However, the test stand described in Brett is relatively complex, and because of the vehicle into which it is attached, many small, medium, or even large companies cannot easily acquire it.
In addition, another disadvantage of the apparatus described in Brett is that their testing device is adapted to only test one type of lifting apparatus, namely a sling.
Against this background, there exists a need in the industry to provide a novel polyvalent test stand.
The present description refers to a number of documents, the content of which is herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.